Bearded and Beautiful: I Learned to Love My PCOS Facial Hair

If you’re a woman who grows hair on your face, my hope is to remind you that you’re not alone. I also want to shine a light on the confidence that is possible for all of us with a little self-acceptance, self-compassion, and radical self love. 

As a young woman, my beard and mustache started growing five whole years before I had even experienced my first period. As you can imagine, what little confidence I had as an awkward teen dwindled with each new hair that appeared on my face, and I was too embarrassed and afraid to ask questions about my changing body.  

For most of my teenage years, I removed my hair with a stolen, dry razor, in the basement of my parents’ house, where no one could see me or find out my secret shame. I hated my body, and said terrible and hurtful things to my body for disappointing me. 

All of my friends had soft and smooth faces, and I was full of razor burned lips and sideburns that were too sore to touch from shaving. I remember thinking at that time that I would never know what true confidence felt like. 

Searching for answers

At 16, I started wondering why I hadn’t experienced a period yet, when all of my friends had been bleeding for years already, so I went to my doctor for help. He dismissed me and told me I had nothing to worry about. 

At 20, after years of advocating for myself, I was finally diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and it all started to make sense. The missed and non-existent menstrual cycles, the hair growth in areas where women don’t usually grow coarse hair, and the insulin resistance. I finally had answers for what was happening to my body, but with answers came the loss of hope.